Lifetime Home: An Emphasis on Clients’ Needs for Aging in Place

‘Home is a place where a person can live safely and independently regardless of age, income, or physical mobility,” says Lisa Tobias, owner of the recently opened Lifetime Home, LLC in Hopewell. Her new company is a natural extension of Tobias Design, LLC, which has provided design and remodeling solutions to home owners in New Jersey and Bucks County since 2005.

Embracing Tobias Design’s mission to reflect the personality and needs of the homeowner, Lifetime Home extends this commitment with an emphasis on the needs of people with physical limitations due to aging, illness or other causes.

Clients come to Lifetime Home for a variety of reasons. Some have current needs. Others are planning for their future and want to be sure they can age in their own home, and others want to provide living space in their home for aging parents.

There are numerous options for making living spaces more accessible.

In the kitchen, inserts can be installed into wall cabinets that can be pulled down to counter top level for easier reach. Sinks can be installed without cabinets so a wheelchair bound person can move up close to the sink.

Likewise, a cooking range can be installed without a base, allowing for easy access to the cooking area. Ovens can be put into cabinets with oven doors that hinge left or right. Dishwashers can be elevated for easy loading and unloading from a sitting position. Light colored counter tops can be installed so people with visions issues can easily see objects placed there.

In the bathroom, curbless, walk-in showers can be installed with a bench seat and a hand-held shower spray. Sinks faucets can be equipped with easy-to-use handle levers.

Throughout the house, light switches and outlets can be lowered for easy reach. The height of flooring transitioning between rooms can be made uniform, and wider spaces between objects can be made for wheelchair mobility.

For someone thinking of the future, spaces can be designed with elements that can be easily moved or modified at a later date.

Lifetime Home is comprised of three key partners: Lisa Tobias of Tobias Design, a Certified Living in Place Professional (CLIPP); Linda Madani of Madani Interiors; and Jim Baxter, a Certified Aging in Place Specialist (CAPS) of Baxter Construction.

When a home owner contacts Lifetime Home for a consultation, the staff visits the home and evaluates what improvements can be made from the entry way to every room within the house and out. When the homeowner identifies what approach best works for their needs and budget, Lifetime Home handles the actual work. The work could be as simple as installing better lighting or it could involve more extensive work, like creating wider doorways or a walk-in shower.

Lifetime Home is not only an extension of Tobias Design, it reflects Lisa’s commitment to community values and the aged. This year, she received the Woman of Valor award from the Jewish Federation of Princeton, Mercer, and Bucks for her 25-plus years working with the organization to raise funds and for serving as a board member of Greenwood House, a Ewing based organization providing nursing care, rehabilitation, assisted living, home­care services and hospice care.

“At the end of the day, my companies are about making home living accessible to meet the needs of people of all ages and abilities,” Lisa says.

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